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Developers are leading Pasadena astray.

Sure, Pasadena is a nice place to live and the need for more housing in our community as well as neighboring cities is acute. But are we building what is most needed for our citizens or are we building for developers looking for a heavy profit margin and a city largely seeking to increase its tax base? That’s one of the important issues in the upcoming election — supporting candidates largely concerned with increasing tax revenue through more hotels and “luxury condo” developments or finding ways of working with citizens to build much needed moderate and affordable housing, including some on city or school-owned properties or at the old YWCA location.

Having grown up in this community, I see too many old friends who rented and are now being pushed out of Pasadena. And I am seeing too many “luxury condo” projects being negotiated by some in city leadership who are micromanaging and working too closely with developers and their lawyers. Let’s stop monkeying with “in lieu fees” and affordable housing provisions and stick to the rules. After all, it’s the city not the developers who have established these rules in concert with the community and its needs. And right now the need is for more diverse housing options that might allow families with children to return to our community and schools to reopen. It might allow students to find living spaces near PCC and Caltech and seniors to locate small but inexpensive down-sized units. And it would return Pasadena to the diverse, multi-cultural and economically diverse city that we can all be proud to call home.

Christle Balvin

Got something to say, email Managing Editor Andre’ Coleman, at andrec@pasadenanowmagazine.com